Republic of Ireland General Discussion Thread 2026

True but It's certainly easier to get out of the group than it is to actually get into the blooming thing with how its set up.

Oh I can only imagine the favouritism that Portugal and the US are going to get. Throw Argentina in too as they'll be creaming themselves for a Messi Vs Ronaldo final.

... After Kelleher saves another penalty.

12 groups, 48 teams, a round of 32, a round of 16, QFs etc … the wall charts are going to be BIG.

The quality of football is going to be rubbish.

Atlanta stadium is a dome

The temperature during the two matches in Mexico is unlikely to exceed 20 degrees. The main challenge there will be the altitude rather than heat or travel logistics (for context if you stacked two Carrauntoohills on top of each other you'd still be 200m short of the altitude the Azteca sits at).

For the Atlanta match, the stadium's roof will be closed and it will be air conditioned, so no worries on that front.

There's two full weeks separating all three fixtures, players will recover between games, it's managing the altitude during the matches in Mexico is what will be critical. (All of this is, of course, contingent on our qualification).

There'll be a nationwide shortage of Nivea factor 50 if we qualify

Guadalajara and Mexico City are just 90 minutes apart by air. The temperature during the day will be mid 20s and cooler in the evening when the matches are played. In Atlanta everything is air conditioned including the stadium so the players exposure to heat will be minimal, even during the match.

It's quite possible the days will be wet as May/June is the rainy season in Guadalajara and Mexico City.

I'd imagine they'd want to base themselves near Mexico City and travel on the morning of the match to Guadalajara with a temporary sub-base covering the 4 or so days they'll be in Atlanta for the game in the middle. That way travel is limited and they'd be based for the majority of the stay near Mexico City (10 or so days during the groups + approx. 2 weeks pre tournament prep time) at high altitude. Ideal preparation for the final match which will be a cauldron.

Round trip from Mexico to Atlanta is over 2,500 miles, that's a significant journey in the middle of a tournament, and this applies to all teams, I wasn't specifically talking about just our possible matches. Way too much travel during the tournament, much better when the venues are closer together.

That's not in a tournament though, so the distance can't really be reduced, it depends entirely on the draw. Tournaments can be set up in a way to reduce the distances, thereby, giving players more rest time and best chance to perform. There are closer stadiums than Atlanta to Mexico in use at the world cup!

It would be very unusual to travel on the morning of the game and may actually be against the rules. I know it's a different organisation but in UEFA comps teams have to travel the day before games. Can't imagine any sports scientist would recommend flying on the day of a game

I don't think they do it in european competitions that's my point. UEFA comps require you to be at the venue the day before to train on the pitch and to do media obligations. They also try as much as possible to make teams fly charter flights to games